The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and other caregivers to provide infants in their care with a safe sleep environment.

A CPSC analysis of crib-related deaths found that crib deaths have been caused by:

• suffocation when infants ended up face down on pillows or face down in a crib with pillows, quilts or other bedding
• entrapment between components of old cribs that were in bad condition, with broken or missing parts or loose hardware
• entrapment in spaces generated between the sides of a crib and an ill fitted mattress
• accessories situated in/around the crib (such as window cords or curtain tie backs)
• falls out of cribs
• alterations made to cribs
• entrapment when the child became wedged between the crib and other furniture or a wall

CPSC also issued a recent press release warning parents and other caregivers of baby deaths associated with air mattresses.

The CPSC is urging parents:

• To reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation, place baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib that meets current safety standards
• To prevent suffocation never use a pillow as a mattress for baby to sleep on or to prop baby’s head or neck
• Infants can strangle to death if their bodies pass through gaps generated between loose components, broken slats and other parts of the crib and their head and neck become entrapped in the space.
  *Do not use old, broken or modified cribs
  *Regularly tighten hardware to keep sides firm
  
• Infants can suffocate in spaces generated between the sides of the crib and an ill fitted mattress; never allow a gap larger than two fingers at any point between the sides of the crib and the mattress.
  
• Never place a crib near a window with blind or curtain cords; infants can strangle on curtain or blind cords.
  
• Properly set up play yards according to manufacturers’ directions. Only use the mattress provided with the play yard. Do not add extra mattresses, pillows or cushions to the play yard, which can cause a suffocation hazard for infants.
  
• Routinely check nursery products against CPSC recall lists and remove recalled products from your home.
  
• Sign-up for automatic e-mail recall notifications at www.cpsc.gov.

The CPSC has been working since 1973 to improve crib safety with the publication of mandatory standards for full-size cribs and non-full size cribs. CPSC staff has also been involved in the development of voluntary standards for cribs addressing issues such as corner posts and structural and mechanical failures. The work of the CPSC has contributed to an 86% decrease in crib related deaths.

Recent crib recalls:

• Munire Furniture Crib Recall
• Bassettbaby Crib Recall
• Bassettbaby Cribs Sold Exclusively at Babies R Us
• Simplicity Crib Recall
• Nursery-in-a-Box Crib Recall (also Simplicity)
• NettoCollection Crib Recall
• Sleepi Crib Foam Mattress Recall
• Pottery Barn Kids Crib Bumpers Recall
• Sleigh Round Cribs Imported by Song Lin Industrial
• Simplicity Cribs with Graco Label
• Lov's "Europa" Natural Color Cribs Sold at Toys R Us

Please send this information to parents of infants and others who take care of babies.

Labels: baby safety, crib recalls, crib safety